A new, damning report on the large-scale child sexual abuses by Irish Catholic priests has drawn a contrite apology to victims by the archbishop of Dublin.

A government commission charged with probing allegations involving the Archdiocese of Dublin between 1975 and 2004 revealed a pattern of clergy abuse that was covered up by the Catholic Church, at times with the collusion of the Irish police.

The archdiocese placed greater impor tance on protecting the church’s reputation and maintaining secrecy than it did on children’s welfare and justice for victims, according to the report released on November 26.

Starting in 1940, four successive archbishops of Dublin were aware of complaints, the report said, but church authorities failed to implement most of their rules on dealing with abuse.